BY KEITH C. BURRIS
COLUMNIST FOR THE BLADE
Recently, I was talking with a person who long worked for former Gov. George Voinovich. This person was a member of his Cabinet and told me that the governor was so strict about the separation of his governing team from his political team that he would “chew out” a governance person who showed up for a fund-raiser or rally …

Many actors are described as “iconic” once they’ve passed on, but few truly fit the definition. Leonard Nimoy, who made Mr. Spock, the half-human, half-Vulcan science officer on the television series Star Trek a household name, earned that distinction. …

BY MARK DANGLER
The strike at the BP-Husky Toledo Refinery is generating significant debate in northwest Ohio. It’s important that people understand what is causing the strike. …

Published 18 hours ago
Unconscious- bias column is spot on
I enjoyed Nicholas D. Kristof’s Feb. 24 op-ed column, “Time for white men to address their unconscious bias.” It was a welcome contrast to the Feb. 22 Parade magazine Oscars issue, which advised actresses not to worry about professional achievements because they can always wear pretty dresses on the red carpet. …

The Blade recently published a brief account of a local shooting that’s worth noting: Leonard Ritchie, 61, of Erie Township, was arrested for allegedly getting out of his pickup and firing three times at another pickup, after the trucks grazed each other about eight miles north of Toledo. …

Published 18 hours ago
Indefensible
This year’s spending plans by the 28 countries in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization suggest that the old problem of the United States bearing a lopsided share of NATO costs is getting worse. …

BY S. AMJAD HUSSAIN
BLADE COLUMNIST
In a refreshing move, the Toledo Clinic, a 175-physician group took out a recent full-page advertisement in The Blade that compared laboratory and radiology rates it charges with those charged by ProMedica and Mercy Health Partners, the two main players in the Toledo health-care market. There is a gross inequality in charges between the Toledo Clinic and …

3/2/2015 12:00 AM
Only Congress can act on immigrants
Your Feb. 24 editorial “Immigration setback,” which harangues a court for interfering with President Obama’s executive order, is misguided. Many constitutional scholars believe he overstepped executive privilege by issuing such an order. …

Few political issues draw support from sponsors as diverse as the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, and the libertarian billionaires Charles and David Koch. But a growing movement that is calling on Congress to reform the nation’s Draconian prison sentencing laws is attracting an unlikely coalition of these and other groups from across the political spectrum. …